"We talked about an opportunity," Huckabee said. "But you know, I'm not sure it was the right fit."

Asked to elaborate on the nature of the position, Huckabee claimed to be in contention for both a cabinet and advisory role, but refused to go into details out of respect for others potentially under consideration.

"Primarily cabinet but as to which agency, the reason that I wouldn't discuss it is because somebody's going to get that slot and I don't want them to think that they are No. 2."

I've always thought a government job presented a problem for Huckabee, who's made a handsome living as a public speaker and Fox commentator. He'd be limited in outside income as a government employee. His $3 million Florida home, property in Little Rock and other expenses require a big cash flow.

Meanwhile, a final commentary in Haaretz, Israel's oldest daily newspaper, mostly expressing alarm about other Trump appointees , but also mentioning the Huckabee/Israel rumor.

And against this backdrop of general mayhem, even the reports of the impending appointment of Governor Mike Huckabee – which has since been denied, much to the regret of journalists and Messianics – is greeted with barely a shrug. After all, what is more natural than to send to current Israel an American envoy who opposes territorial concessions, negates the very existence of a Palestinian nation and believes in an Armageddon that will herald the Second Coming?

Blue Hog Report has some news on a Republican primary challenge of an incumbent legislator, Rep. Laurie Rushing, by Ernie Hinz of Hot Springs.

Republicans, including at least one from Arkansas, are talking about repealing the Dickey Amendment which prohibits gun research from a public health perspective. But none of them are yet willing to DO anything about it.

Arkansas Times Recommends is a series in which Times staff members (or whoever happens to be around at the time) highlight things we've been enjoying this week.

Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the group behind the first medical marijuana initiative to qualify for the ballot, has responded sharply to yesterday's statement by the Arkansas Health Department that it opposes legal medical use of marijuana.

John Goodson — the Texarkana attorney, D.C. lobbyist, and husband of Arkansas State Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson — was reprimanded today by a federal judge for his conduct in a class-action case.

A rediscovered violin concerto brings an oft-forgotten composer into the limelight.

My colleagues John Ray and Jesse Bacon and I estimate, in the first analysis of its kind for the 2018 election season, that the president's waning popularity isn't limited to coastal cities and states. The erosion of his electoral coalition has spread to The Natural State, extending far beyond the college towns and urban centers that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. From El Dorado to Sherwood, Fayetteville to Hot Springs, the president's approval rating is waning.

Despite fierce protests from disabled people, the U.S. House voted today, mostly on party lines, to make it harder to sue businesses for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Of course Arkansas congressmen were on the wrong side.